Philosophy Vocabulary Epistemology- The theory of knowledge with

Philosophy Vocabulary EpistemologyThe theory of knowledge with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion. KnowledgeTrue, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion. Sources of KnowledgeA common concern with respect to knowledge is what sources of information are capable of giving knowledge. The following are some of the major sources of knowledge: 1. Perception — that which can be perceived through the experiences of the senses. The view that experience is the primary source of knowledge is called empiricism. 2. Reason — Reason can be considered a source of knowledge, either by deducing truths from existing knowledge, or by learning things a priori, discovering necessary truths (such as mathematical truths) through pure reason. The view that reason is the primary source of knowledge is called rationalism 3. Introspection — knowledge of one’s self that can be found through internal self-evaluation. This is generally considered to be a sort of perception. (For example, I know I am hungry or tired.) 4. Memory — Memory is the storage of knowledge that was learned in the past — whether it be past events or current information. 5. Testimony — Testimony relies on others to acquire knowledge and communicate it to us. Some deny that testimony can be a source of knowledge, and insist that beliefs gained through testimony must be verified in order to be knowledge. EmpiricismThe doctrine that knowledge derives from experience RationalismThe doctrine that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience. A prioriDerived by logic, without observed facts; a priori knowledge is based on reasoning not experience. Latin for “prior to the thing,” term where something is known a priori if it can be known independently of experience or without empirical investigation of the external world. A posteriori-

Knowledge gained after experience, through reasoning of known facts/ observations Latin for “posterior to the thing,” it is an epistemic term where something is known a posteriori if it can be known only by experience or by empirical investigation of the external world. Epistemic- of or relating to knowledge or to the degree of its validation. Tautology- Logic a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form. Example: He will get here when he gets here. AestheticsThe area of philosophy, which covers the concepts of beauty and art. Contingent: dependent on; conditional Premise: a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn Inductive reasoning: deriving general principles from particular facts or instances ("Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals"). Deductive Reasoning: a method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises; inference by reasoning from general to specific. E.g. Socrates is a man, all men are mortal, Socrates is mortal. The conclusion is contained in the premises. Ethics or moral philosophy- is the branch of philosophy concerned with human conduct and its moral value.